Tuesday, August 31, 2010

chucking samples

I've spent years collecting field data of various types. Most of it gets distilled into field logsheets or logbooks and reports. The physical stuff (other than what was shipped to the lab) mostly gets shipped off-site for disposal.

But when you're collecting rock core samples as part of an environmental investigation, usually what you do is put it in a core box, labeled all nicely. And then the core boxes get piled in a storage building (if lucky) or under a tarp (if not so lucky) and get infested with bugs and forgotten about.

Rock cores are not taken for every environmental investigation, and they're generally a significant investment. They're handy because you can always go back to them, even years later, and find new details you didn't know were important before you did all your analysis.

So when I heard that the rock cores I spent seven months collecting just got thrown out, it was...deflating.

1 comment:

C W Magee said...

bugs?
What about snakes and scorpions.

My new fieldie was from New Zealand, an island that doesn't have snakes. He saw his first one in the wild in a core tray he picked up.

The boy has vertical leap, I can tell you.